The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Originally intended for New York City progressives, its readership is now national. For anyone who wants to be alerted by email whenever this newsletter is updated (usually weekly), please send your email address and let me know what state you live in (so I can keep track of my readership).

DARWIN DAY EVENTS IN WISCONSIN: February 12th is Charles Darwin's birthday and is celebrated as International Darwin Day. Below are some of the offical Darwin Day events for 2011 (not all are on Feb. 12th itself)

Darwin Days in Green Bay WisconsinDate and Time: 2011-02-11 12:00:00

Activities:Darwin Days 2011 in Green Bay will be at the Harmony Cafe. Our Event will be on Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th. It is free and open to the public.

Friday's Program will include displays, speakers, DVDs and presentations primarily for adults and young adults.

Saturday's program will be especially interesting for children and families. Science and history will be made understandable and exciting even for grade school children. There will be games and contests with valuable prizes.

High school and collage age students will participate in workshops to learn, teach, and be inspired by Darwin's incredibly productive life. Prizes and Impressive certificates will be awarded.

On both Friday and Saturday Capt. FitzRoy's HMS Beagle Second Survey Soup will be served so that no one will go hungry when they celebrate with us.Address: 1660 W Mason StGreen Bay/WI 54303 Sponsor: Ethical Humanists of Green Bay WisconsinContact: Mike LaydenEmail: ehsgbw@GmailPhone: 920-494-1426

Blogging Wisconsin:

LeftyBlogs Wisconsin is the place to find out what's happening in the progressive blogosphere across Wisconsin.

Urban Milwaukee: seeks to provide a informative and open dialogue on the issues, events, and people affecting Milwaukee’s most urban neighborhoods, and to promote urbanism within the city of Milwaukee.

Uppity Wisconsin: Uppity Wisconsin is a project to promote a discussion of progressive/liberal politics in Wisconsin. This is a collaborative effort to allow people of a progressive viewpoint to write blogs and to comment on articles. We also aggregate in a number of news sources to the site so you may keep up with progressive news.

For more info check out their website: http://www.themic921.com/main.html

NATIVE VOTE WISCONSIN:The state of Wisconsin encompasses 11 American Indian tribes within its borders. The American Indian and Alaska Native population makes up 1.29% of the state, and 1.09% of eligible Wisconsin voters.

Native Vote, is a nation wide resource for encouraging voter turn out in Indian Country. Organized by the National Congress of American Indians, get out the vote efforts in Indian Country have been supported by NCAI since 1955.

For more information or to get involved contact:Tana Aguirre(920) 869-4239taguirre@oneidanation.org

NAACP WISCONSIN:The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.

Join us in building a brighter and more progressive future for our country.

For more information (including where) email: russwallac_at_aol.com or go here.

DFA Northeast WisconsinDFA - Northeast Wisconsin (DFA-NEW) meets the first Wednesday of each month to discuss issues, promote progressive candidates and actively work to bring democracy to the political process locally, regionally and nationally. Sign up here to get information on their meetings.

Democracy for Stevens Point:A group of progressive, concerned citizens in the Stevens Point, WI area who are interested in political change as described in Democracy for America, and organization originally begun by Governor Howard Dean.

Biodiesel is an American produced fuel that is cleaner than traditional diesel. Up to B20 (a 20% blend of biodiesel and traditional diesel) any diesel engine, car or truck, can run on it. Above B20, some older engines may have problems but newer diesel engines should be ok. Here are some Biofuels co-ops...below that I list regular gas stations that carry biodiesel.

PrairieFire BioFuels: a member-owned cooperative creating access and building infrastructure to support vegetable oil-based fuels sources and usage.

1894 East Washington AvenueMadison, WI 53704

Co-op and non-profit: (608) 441-5454

Shop: (608) 441-9566

Business Office and Diesel Repair Shop hours:Monday - Friday 8am-5pm

The Wisconsin Biodiesel Association (WBA) is a membership trade organization that promotes the commercial development, production, marketing, distribution, and utilization of biodiesel and other renewable biofuels.

It is the vision of WBA that Wisconsin biodiesel producers, marketers and distributors will provide, through a network of readily accessible retail outlets, biodiesel fuel that consistently meets recognized quality standards so that all Wisconsin citizens benefit from the economic returns, improved air quality and energy independence achieved through use of renewable biodiesel fuels.

For a list of biodiesel stations around Wisconsin, go here (PDF). Remember, ANY diesel engine can use up to B20 biodiesel, so most of these stations can fuel any diesel truck or car. Here is a partial list:

* The Glacier Hills Wind Park, a 207-megawatt wind farm with the potential to power 45,000 homes, is in the approval stages. The proposed wind park would be located 45 miles northeast of Madison.

* Governor Doyle's recent directive to purchase 92,000-megawatts of clean power from solar, wind, and landfill gas systems for government buildings will take the state halfway to meeting his goal of powering the state government with 20% renewable energy sources by 2011.

* Wisconsin's energy efficiency programs save enough electricity to power over 40,000 homes for a whole year, save more than $36.1 million in energy costs, and prevent the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking over 52,000 cars off the road. Although great progress, the state still has much more potential to increase its energy efficiency.

Alternative energy and YOUR energy bill: YOU can be part of the solution for America by signing up to purchase your energy through a Green Power Provider. My wife and I have been doing this in NYC for years. All our energy usage is provided through wind energy generation on American farms. So we use clean energy AND help American farmers. It costs us three cents per kilowatt-hour more per month, but we feel great about it. Although our actual energy may come from anywhere, we are paying to purchase wind energy for the energy grid. Each state has different programs available, usually through yuor existing energy provider right on your existing energy bill. To find such options in Wisconsin, go here and pick your energy provider from the list. If you need help, you can email me and tell me who you get your bill from (don't give me any other info!) and I can tell you who to contact to go green through that energy provider. Or you can do the same thing using Renewable Energy Certificates through an organization that works with utility companies, though in this case it is a separate bill. One off the cheapest (.4-1 cent per kilowatt-hour), but still e-Green certified, ways to do this is through Good Energy. Or, for about half a cent per kilowatt-hour you can purchase renewable energy certificates through Carbonfund.org. ANY of these ways you do it, you are helping the environment, helping America, and helping cut carbon emissions.

RENEW Wisconsin is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Madison, promotes clean energy strategies for powering the state's economy in an environmentally responsible manner.

Madison Peak Oil Group meets on the first Thursday of every month for a brown bag lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the lower level conference room at 222 S. Hamilton Street.

THE MadiSUN PROGRAM: The City of Madison was recently awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Solar America Cities Program. MadiSUN’s goal is to double to number of solar electric and hot water solar installations in the city. The City of Madison, along with Madison Gas and Electric, Focus on Energy and UW Extension will be working on this project for the next two years. A major component of the grant is to provide the community with a consultant who can help interested residents and businesses install a solar system. The consultant is on board to provide technical expertise and to answer questions regarding design, permitting and rebate programs. Contact (608) 243-0586 or solar_at_cityofmadison.com

Progressive Majority Wisconsin: Over the years, Wisconsin has proved to be the ultimate swing state. It is a battleground state that must be protected as a progressive stronghold because of its history as a "laboratory of reform," which has historically tested new public policies and set examples for the nation.

Wisconsin is a state with progressive urban areas and politically diverse rural areas. Progressive Majority's state-based approach to candidate recruitment and development is well-suited to adapting to unique political environments such as this.

Progressive Majority Wisconsin believes values-centered campaigns are winning campaigns. That's how Progressive Majority succeeded in flipping control of the state senate in 2006. Kathleen Vinehout won because she thinks everyone deserves affordable health care. Jim Sullivan took a suburban Milwaukee district on the strength of his commitment to good public schools. John Lehman wants a government that cares about people instead of corporations - Racine agrees. Pat Kreitlow knows that people want and deserve a healthy environment. And Kim Hixson squeaked out a win, by focusing on the hopes of local voters. We will continue nurturing local candidates to build a deeply-rooted progressive coalition in the state. In addition, Wisconsin staff will focus on incumbent protection efforts for progressive candidates that will face tough re-election bids in 2008.

Ozaukee First Friday ForumFirst Friday Forums - public affairs breakfast forums co-sponsored by MATC-Mequon, UW-Extension and the Ozaukee County Board.

Held on the first Friday of every other month from 730am to 900 am at MATC-Mequon. $5 registration fee per session. Additional information: Sandra Webster 262-238-2205/ websters@matc.edu

Milwaukee County Democratic Club:We meet on the fourth Monday of most months, 7 PM in the Hall of Fame Room of the Pettit National Ice Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park. We look forward to seeing you there!

Petitt National Ice Center 500 S. 84th St Milwaukee, WI, 53214

For the bicycilists in Madison, here's Critical Mass Madison:

Critical Mass is a movement (not an organization) that advocates for better transportation alternatives. Meets 5:30 PM, the last Friday of Every Month, no matter the weather. Gather where West Washington meets Capitol Square. Where the ride goes after that is decided by whoever shows up.